Alright, real talk: I went into this expecting just another mobile gacha cash grab with a Phantom Thieves skin slapped on it. What I got instead? A straight-up Persona experience that feels way more like a real game than it has any business being.

The gameplay is buttery smooth – turn-based combat that’s stylish as hell, dungeons and extra content that are actually fun to run through, and all the personality, flair, and attitude you’d expect from a Persona title. It oozes that itch that I got from Persona 5 in the menus, the music, the character art… honestly, you can tell this is a labor of love behind the gacha premise.

And yeah, it’s a gacha game – I hear you. But here’s the thing: it’s shockingly fair. I’ve spent a bit of money so far, but even with the free content players can easily still pull together a solid roster without feeling like you need to swipe your card every five minutes. Daily rewards, events, and just playing the game keep you stocked well enough to roll when you want. If you’ve got a small bit patience, it’s 100% playable as a free player. Just don't hard grind consistently and expect for things to just be given to you all up front. You should have reasons to return back to the game, it keeps it alive.

Is it perfect? Nah. It still has the “gacha DNA” baked in, so if you hate the concept entirely, this won’t change your mind. But if you’re into Persona and want a slick, polished experience that respects your time more than most mobile titles – this is it. Some of the story itself can get a bit.. plain, but the characters themselves and the environments you're put in are likable at the least.

TL;DR: Stylish combat, feels like a Persona game, amazing art and mechanics, surprisingly generous for a gacha, a bit lacking in story and depth in some moments, a lot of freebies given (even more so as of this review), etc.

Please ignore all the negative reviews focused on the micro transactions only giving a negative because they haven’t grasped the idea of just not playing or paying if it bothers them so much. If their focus is purely on that aspect, then the game itself isn’t getting the honest reviews it deserves that accompanies all aspects of it’s gameplay and systems.

The game is phenomenal, it runs buttery smooth and the customization is immense from the start alongside 13 different starting Mechs to choose from. With diverse movesets and various equipment to fit your playstyle preference. The extraction gamemode even lets you equip dropped weapons from enemies on any mecha base, for wild combinations. (Like a support mecha with two massive gatling guns.) The game itself rewards you with in-game currency to spend on minor to major accessories both for pilot and mecha, and doesn’t force you spend a dime if you’re looking to be even a casual player. A free game needs ways to keep itself alive, and what they ask for is not at all greedy. It’s for the invested and those who want to spend the money. Again, if you don’t want to spend the money, don’t.

Combat is amazingly fast-paced, with satisfying mechanics that feel just like an Armored Core title for absolutely free. The game itself also gives us way too much content in the best way; 3v3 Deathmatches, 6v6 Hero Shooter, 3 Team Extractions PvPvE, and most certainly more things to come.

tldr; Micro-transactions do not take away from how beautiful and fun the game is. Ignore the hate, try the game, and give a positive to counter the complainers who seek to undermine a labor of love that most can appreciate.

Another one of the OG Vindictus players here from 2010.

I'll list the pros and cons just to make it clear and concise, as there is things that its Alpha really builds on, and also fumbles with. This is all taken into context as if the current build set by the Alpha is given on the release of the game later.

- Game is incredibly beautiful, with an amazing emphasis on visual impact and scene setting. The original Vindictus contained the area's showcased in the alpha, but amplified tenfold for visual clarity and quality.
- Combat is incredibly fluid. Easy to pickup, hard to master. Any fans of the original Vindictus will immediately see combos and moves from the original game that blend seamlessly with the souls-like style of game-play and movement.
- Combat is also relatively balanced. Anyone getting into a souls-like genre knows the potential qualms with frustration or unfair mechanics, but adding in elements like a follower (one of the other 4 characters can join you) alongside lack of stamina bar makes it that much more new user friendly and rewarding for a more experienced player.
- Voice acting and character focus. The original game lacked a large quantity of voices besides cutscenes or important story pieces, so seeing them with full models and decent to good VA quality behind them is a great addition.
- Customization. There is a quantity of appearances modifiers that you can get for in-game currency found that help change the aspects of your characters visuals. Each armor set has presets with various color palettes for a large variety of personality for your character.
- Multiplayer is going to be a feature as well as special missions with allies.
- Characters are beautiful, pretty, cute, hot in every which way. Tailored well for both genders of characters as well as quite a bit of detail in each armor set.

- Potential Microtransactions. Now, throughout the game-play you are given a free battle pass with various types of cosmetic and level ascension rewards as you play, which would be a great addition to have if added to the full release for free. However, Nexon has been notorious for a bit of a greedy streak so expect to see some potential pay-to-play skins locked behind some dollar signs if it gets enough traction.
- Horribly optimized. If you can get the graphical settings right, it can look amazing but the tweaks it takes to work around it are somewhat scarce as the advanced settings in-game are a bit bare bones so far.
- Story is a bit droning. To clarify, the Alpha states that the prologue itself wasn't included in this playtest. Starting from the beginning story if it mimics the original Vindictus, I'm confident there will be more investment from the start than currently. However, characters do talk quite a lot. For those that don't have much interest though, it's very easy to skip or press space through most of all dialogue for easy bypass. Not a huge deal imo.
- Beautiful environments, but it feels barren as is. This could be tied to the soundtrack or it being in Alpha, as some choices create this dynamic of emptiness alongside the world such as the instrumental background piano piece while exploring the ruins. Makes the vibes more somber and dreary than exciting to explore further, which is what the combat and fights do well to present.


- Most certainly going to get this game on release, either free or with a price tag. However, if in game skins, passes, accessories, additions, etc. cost real money, I would also hope the game be released free. For an alpha its incredibly satisfying and very well rounded, with promise if the direction of the world and the questing itself is improved. Hopefully more play-test releases as time goes on with more content around the world itself to add more depth to the game.

Although people might stray from the fact that the game is basically a large looter shooter rinse repeat style of game, I've found so much enjoyment in exploring the world and figuring out techniques and approaches to not only the robots in the game, but the environment and loadouts one can create for their character. Manipulating boomboxes, creating car bomb ambushes, strategically moving to safe spaces behind walls to avoid incoming fire, choosing what parts to shoot in order to render a bot obsolete, using smoke rockets to cover a friend, and many, many, many more ideas just add to the list of the things you can do in, outside, and preparing for combat. Not to mention, the crazy amounts of guns, ammo types, upgrades, blueprints, and items to utilize that you can acquire parts for through the RNG lootboxes/RNG Bot drops littered throughout the map.

Outside of combat, perfectionists will love the collectible system as the world map itself is massive. Only 141.7 hours in, around 86% achievements complete and I still have two full areas to explore along with smaller areas littered around places I've already been. Even if you might be dismayed by the maps size, the views from the relatively perfect day and night cycle are incredible. One of the most beautiful and captivating visual environments I've had the pleasure to walk through. Character customization is also incredibly massive, with a large amount of clothing and accessories you can choose from and each can be tailor-upgraded with bonuses against certain damage types for your play-style or build.

Builds are also unique, in the way that the developers purposely removed respec'ing of skill points for the emphasis that your build matters in your play through, especially with friends. 4 different trees are available to go down into, with 8 different final subclass types to make your active skill sit at the end of each tree.

Overall, the game has been a blast to play and I still plan on more hours to come since the quirky side quests and Easter eggs you can find through the map really show the creative love the developers put into the game. This game oozes AAA quality for only $25.00.

The game itself is a grinding, boss focused hack and slash. The combat itself for your character is simplistic, but takes a lot of practice and determination to improve throughout playing the game. It's like a visually pleasing dungeon crawler, but the dungeons don't exist (for now?), just the final boss. The customization of the sentinels are incredible, with a large array of weapons, decorations, paints, and combinations of circuits you can use to create the ultimate fighting automaton. Its not something you can spend all day playing, but a game that you always could want to go back to for an hour or two out of your day. To me, that makes it a worthwhile purchase. I'm anticipating the updates in the future and I pray that this game lasts a long, long time moving forward. Super unique.

The only problem I have with this game is the meta. Ranged revolver/phaser type bosses are very common due to their high mobility and ease of avoiding direct damage besides the boomerang your character possesses. Just hope they change a few aspects of Mirador's meta and make it more suitable for multiple class types.

Totally worth your money. Its content is satifying and the graphics are so uniquly beautiful. One of my favorite games.